So this is for people who have been learning for a little while now. I am at an N3 ish level of Japanese. Not perfect but still decent. How would you respond to “日本語がとてもお上手ですね！” In a natural way that essentially says “thank you but I still have a long way to go/need to learn more”? Im trying to find the right mix that isn’t rude while still indicating I want to keep practicing or learning, especially in a business setting for my work
7 comments
if i’m just brushing off the compliment to continue the conversation
いえいえ、まだまだです
少しはできますが
if i’m being coy
お上手って、何？ *wink*
if i really want to point out that i’m getting getting お上手’ed for a single word (tho be kind, this is probably a knee jerk reaction on their part and not being overly congratulatory):
一言葉を言って、上手と言われると、ちょっと恥ずかしいですけど、優しい言葉をありがとうございました with probably a よろしくお願いします to reboot the japanese conversation operating system
Fuckin I once had that just from saying konnichiwa. I guess they were so used to clueless tourists walking through so somebody with a single word of japanese was a rarity. Even then you’d expect tourists to at least learn how to say hello. Just ignore it, brush it off, whatever.
Just say “thank you” and move on. No good reason to make it a bigger deal than that, since they’re probably just saying it to be polite, anyway. (I learned Japanese by immersion and focused individual study when I lived in Sapporo 50yrs ago.)
いえいえ、そんなことないてす
Just my two cents, but I might say, “ありがとう！でも、まだ勉強中です。” This thanks them and doesn’t say that you can’t speak Japanese at all but also says that you have a lot further to go. (As far as I know, as I’m probably around your level.)
I’m Japanese and I suggest responding with “あ、どうも。これからもがんばります！”. More formally, “どうもありがとうございます。(今はまだ勉強中ですが) これからもがんばります！” may be better. “がんばります” is a useful phrase.
My go-to response is そんな事はないんですよ！でも、褒めていただいて嬉しいですから、ありがとうございます！ or something like that.